BILL NUMBER: SB 708	CHAPTERED  07/22/99

	CHAPTER   148
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   JULY 22, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   JULY 22, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   JULY 15, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   JUNE 30, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   JUNE 30, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review

                        FEBRUARY 24, 1999

   An act to amend Sections 14005.30 and 18940 of, to amend and
repeal Section 14053.1 of, and to repeal and add Section 14007.65 of,
the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to human services, and
making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof,
to take effect immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 708, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review.   Human services.
   Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, administered by
the State Department of Health Services, under which qualified
low-income persons are provided with health care services.
   Under legislation pending before the Governor, the department
would be required, commencing August 1, 1999, to exercise a state
option allowable under federal law governing the Medi-Cal program to
exempt all resources from inclusion in determining Medi-Cal
eligibility, if federal financial participation is available.
   This bill would eliminate this requirement.
   Legislation pending before the Governor provides that ancillary
outpatient services shall be provided to any eligible individual aged
21 years or over, but who has not yet attained the age of 65 years,
and who resides in an institution for mental diseases, regardless of
the availability of federal financial participation.
   This bill would repeal this provision on July 1, 2000.
   Legislation pending before the Governor contains provisions
relating to eligibility for long-term care services for certain
aliens under the Medi-Cal program.
   This bill would also repeal and reenact eligibility requirements
for those services.
   The bill would appropriate $600,000 from the General Fund, and
$600,000 from the Federal Trust Fund to the State Department of
Health Services for increased Medi-Cal fraud prevention activities.
   Existing law, operative until July 1, 2000, requires each county
to operate a county-administered program to provide cash assistance
to aged, blind, and disabled legal immigrants who are noncitizens.
   Legislation pending before the Governor would indefinitely extend
this program and would revise eligibility requirements.
   This bill would further revise eligibility requirements for this
program.
   The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an
urgency statute.
   Appropriation:  yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 14005.30 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
as amended by Assembly Bill 1107 of the 1999-2000 Regular Session, is
amended to read:
   14005.30.  (a) (1) To the extent that federal financial
participation is available, Medi-Cal benefits under this chapter
shall be provided to individuals eligible for services under Section
1396u-1 of Title 42 of the United States Code, including any options
under Section 1396u-1(b)(2)(C) made available to and exercised by the
state.
   (2) The department shall exercise its option under Section 1396u-1
(b)(2)(C) of Title 42 of the United States Code to adopt less
restrictive income and resource eligibility standards and
methodologies to the extent necessary to allow all recipients of
benefits under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) to be
eligible for Medi-Cal under paragraph (1).
   (b) To the extent that federal financial participation is
available, the department shall exercise its option under Section
1396u-1(b)(2)(C) of Title 42 of the United States Code as necessary
to expand eligibility for Medi-Cal under subdivision (a) by
establishing the amount of countable resources individuals or
families are allowed to retain at the same amount medically needy
individuals and families are allowed to retain, except that a family
of one shall be allowed to retain countable resources in the amount
of three thousand dollars ($3,000).
   (c) To the extent federal financial participation is available,
the department shall, commencing March 1, 2000, adopt an income
disregard for applicants equal to the difference between the income
standard under the program adopted pursuant to Section 1931(b) of the
federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396u-1) and the amount
equal to 100 percent of the federal poverty level applicable to the
size of the family.  A recipient shall be entitled to the same
disregard, but only to the extent it is more beneficial than, and is
substituted for, the earned income disregard available to recipients.

   (d) Subdivision (b) shall be applied retroactively to January 1,
1998.
   (e) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the
department shall implement, without taking regulatory action,
subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section by means of an all county
letter or similar instruction.  Thereafter, the department shall
adopt regulations in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.  Beginning six months after the effective date
of this section, the department shall provide a status report to the
Legislature on a semiannual basis until regulations have been
adopted.
  SEC. 2.  Section 14053.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as
added by Assembly Bill 1107 of the 1999-2000 Regular Session, is
amended to read:
   14053.1.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 14053, ancillary outpatient
services, pursuant to Section 14132, for any eligible individual who
is 21 years of age or over, and has not attained 65 years of age and
who is a patient in an institution for mental diseases shall be
covered regardless of the availability of federal financial
participation.
   (b) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2000,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that
is chaptered on or before July 1, 2000, deletes or extends that date.

  SEC. 3.  Section 14007.65 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as
added by Assembly Bill 1107 of the 1999-2000 Regular Session, is
repealed.
  SEC. 4.  Section 14007.65 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
   14007.65.  (a) Aliens who were receiving long-term care services
under the authority of subdivision (f) of Section 1 of Chapter 1441
of the Statutes of 1988 on the day prior to the effective date of
this section shall continue to receive those long-term care services.

   (b) On or after the effective date of this section, any alien
applicant who is not lawfully present in the United States, who is
otherwise eligible for Medi-Cal services, but who does not meet the
requirements under subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 14007.5, would
be eligible to receive federally reimbursable long-term care services
pursuant to the medicaid program provided for pursuant to Title 19
of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396 et seq.),
shall be eligible to receive long-term care services to the extent
that funding is made available for this purpose in the annual Budget
Act.  In no event shall expenditures for this program exceed the
amount necessary to serve 110 percent of the 1999-2000 estimated
eligible population without further authorization by the Legislature.

  SEC. 5.  Section 18940 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, as
amended by Assembly Bill 1111 of the 1999-2000 Regular Session, is
amended to read:
   18940.  (a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the
federal and state laws and regulations governing the SSI/SSP program
shall also govern the program provided for under this chapter.
   (b) Federal deeming rules and exemptions governing the SSI/SSP
program, including all federal and state laws and regulations
designed to protect SSI/SSP recipients and their resources, shall
also govern the program provided for under this chapter, except that
for immigrants described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of
Section 18938 who do not meet exemptions from deeming, the period for
deeming of a sponsor's income and resources shall be five years from
the date of the sponsor's execution of the affidavit of support or
the date of the immigrant's arrival in the United States, whichever
is later.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter,
immigrants who are victims of abuse by their sponsor or sponsor's
spouse shall be exempt from deeming.  Abuse shall be defined in the
same manner as provided in Section 11495.1 and Section 11495.12.  A
sworn statement of abuse by a victim, or the representative of the
victim if the victim is not able to competently swear, shall be
sufficient to establish abuse if one or more additional items of
evidence of abuse is also provided.  Additional evidence may include,
but is not limited to, the following:
   (1) Police, government agency, or court records or files.
   (2) Documentation from a domestic violence program, or from a
legal, clinical, medical, or other professional from whom the
applicant or recipient has sought assistance in dealing with abuse.
   (3) A statement from any other individual with knowledge of the
circumstances that provided the basis for the claim.
   (4) Physical evidence of abuse.
   (5) If the victim cannot provide additional evidence of abuse,
then the sworn statement shall be sufficient if the county makes a
determination documented in writing in the case file that the
applicant is credible.
  SEC. 6.  There is hereby appropriated to the State Department of
Health Services, in augmentation of Item 4260-001-0001 of the Budget
Act of 1999, for increased Medi-Cal provider fraud prevention
activities, the sum of six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) from
the General Fund and six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) from the
Federal Trust Fund.
  SEC. 7.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect.  The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to provide for the administration of this act relating to
human services for the entire 1999-2000 fiscal year, it is necessary
that this act go into immediate effect.
